Oral Roberts Fund Appeal Questioned

Oral Roberts drew public ridicule last year by declaring God would ``take me home`` unless he raised $8 million for medical scholarships.

But all`s well that ends well. After all, students at the Oral Roberts University medical school have reaped the benefits ever since.

Or have they?

The evangelical journal Christianity Today claims otherwise. According to its July issue:

-- The university abruptly cancelled the scholarship program in February, less than a year after the fund-raising appeal.

-- Roberts is denying he ever promised full medical scholarships -- but he did, in print and on television.

-- Only $2.4 million actually reached the students, about half as much as went for staff and faculty salaries.

-- Students who have left the school may have to repay the money they got -- at an 18 percent interest rate.

``For me, the biggest question is whether donors and students were treated fairly,`` says Randy Frame, assistant news editor of Christianity Today, based in Carol Stream, Ill. ``The donors were led to believe they were giving money for the students` education. And the students were led to believe they were getting full, four-year scholarships.``

Frame wrote his report, titled ``$8 Million Worth of Unanswered Questions,`` after a month of examining videotapes of shows produced by Oral Roberts and his son, Richard, plus articles in their magazine. Frame also spent 2 1/2 days in Tulsa, interviewing students and staff, both current and former. ORU officials refused Frame`s requests for interviews.

Roberts led his life-or-death fund drive, which he said was on command from God, for a year ending in March 1987. Orlando race track owner Jerry Collins carried the day with a $1.3 million gift. ORU officials announced a total collection of $8.4 million, according to Christianity Today.

After the scholarships were terminated, Roberts and his son explained on television that the money had been raised not just for students, but for the cost of operating the medical school for one year, according to Christianity Today. Roberts also said the scholarships were guaranteed only for one year.

This contradicts statements on the Expect A Miracle program and in the magazine Abundant Life, none of which mention school operations, Frame writes. ``God`s instructions were for me to raise the $8 million it will take to give full scholarships to each of our young physicians-in-training, including their room and board,`` Roberts told Abundant Life.

The quote parallels statements by ORU staffers to the News/Sun-Sentinel last year. They said God told the evangelist: ``I want you to turn the medical school around in one year and raise the $8 million it takes to scholarship the students.``

The Christianity Today report indicates confusion on how the scholarship plan was presented to students and professors. Some say they understood the program depended on donations, and a contract signed by first-year students reads ``ORU makes no promise ... that additional medical student scholarship loans will be made in future years.``

However, student Paul Miller showed letters to Frame from as far back as 1986, calling it a ``four-year scholarship in exchange for four years of missionary service.`` Faculty, including associate physiology professor Donald Godfrey, reportedly voiced the same impression. Godfrey has left the university over the matter.

Where did all that money go? Frame quotes chief financial officer Mark Swadener as saying the funds were used for scholarships. But Dr. Larry Edwards, the medical school dean, gave the Tulsa Tribune a different tally: $2.4 million for scholarships, $4.75 million for salaries of professors and staff, $750,000 for ``research,`` $700,000 for the school`s medical mission projects overseas.

That comes out to $8.6 million, as opposed to the $8.4 million Christianity Today says was the original announced total. Frame says the school wouldn`t clear up that question.

Asked to comment on the Christianity Today article, ORU spokeswoman Jan Dargatz said all statements about the medical school would have to be fielded by Edwards, who is on vacation.

Students now are being ``encouraged`` to take out loans to finish their education, and at least three have transferred to other medical schools. The transferees reportedly have been told they must repay the money they received for the first year ``or face legal action,`` Christianity Today says.

Roberts has said the scholarship program has been reinstated, pending new donations (the deadline is in August). But Frame says the students have told him ``they`re proceeding as if they`ll get no more money.``

He doubts many of the medical school freshmen will leave ORU this year. ``It`s easier to transfer after two years, when they`ve finished their basic requirements. It`s possible there will be more of an exodus next year.``